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RF c04s02
Text When Ardent Desire awoke, it was with an awful headache, a parched throat, and... pain, in a word. He felt like his body was filled with broken glass, and moving not only made all those shards jingle around his veins and everywhere else they were stuffed into, it stabbed and cudgeled his brain. He coughed a few times, then moaned low in his throat as his eyes opened tiredly. The room was dark, and he couldn't focus... couldn't manage anything, except to moan piteously again. But as he shivered on the ground, the pain slowly began to fade out, and Ardent Desire let his eyes slip closed as his muscles shivered and his brain carefully pieced itself back together inside his skull. After ten minutes of trying not to move, he finally felt well enough to carefully raise his head... and when only a few pieces of his brain seemed to fall out of place, he carefully made his way up to his hooves. His body throbbed slowly, and Ardent Desire shivered once, then reached up to touch his horn... and immediately cursed in pain, twitching from the agony that went through him from just a gentle tap against the spire. His whole body shook from the flinch, and his vision swam for a moment before settling: more than enough to make it very clear he should no longer make any sudden movements. Instead, he took a slow breath before straightening carefully and turning around in a circle, looking moodily down the hall at the faintly-burning lanterns in the distance. It had to be night, from how dark it was: even if this room was windowless, light usually filtered in from... somewhere. He couldn't think properly, as he gritted his teeth and then rose his head, calling weakly: "Helena!" His horn pulsed, casting a flash of red light for a moment, and Ardent Desire almost screamed at the hellish pain that ripped through him as he collapsed forwards, grabbing at his skull and moaning. The throbbing agony in his body had been nothing compared to the pain of trying to concentrate magic... and he hadn't even been trying to cast a spell! Some instinct had just kicked in and... and... But thankfully, he no longer needed to think when he heard hooves hurrying towards him, and Helena ran into the room to skid to a halt in front of him, leaning down over him and cursing under her breath. "Oh, Ardent Desire, look at you... Cupidus... that..." He looked blearily up at her, confused, but the Kelpie caught herself and shook her head, leaning down and kissing his temple tenderly as she murmured: "Stay still. Stay still. Look up into my eyes... we demons have our own powers, and I'm going to put you to sleep for a little while, to work through the worst of this pain." Ardent Desire nodded naively, looking up at her with a tremble, and she met his eyes... and even as her own glowed, and he felt himself descending into comfortable darkness, he felt a bolt of shame. He didn't know if it was his own, or if it came from the Kelpie, but nor did he have the time to think about it as everything once more went black. He was aware of the darkness, in a strange way: of sleeping, not dreaming but not completely without sense, until he lapsed into a state of... he didn't know. It felt like curtains being drawn back to reveal moving images, like he was living out things that had been hardwired into his subconscious, but he had been too young to know, or remember... He was looking up at his mother and his father, and they were both smiling down at him... and there was something else there, too. Behind his mother, this lurking, enormous presence. It leaned over her, and it grasped her... but it did not loom, and he stared at it, but he wasn't afraid. It was behemoth, but gentle, not frightening... and he saw the way that his mother responded to it, reaching a hoof up to touch the claw on her shoulder even as a young Lord Bonfire – who was happy in a way he had never imagined his father to have ever been – didn't seem to sense the creature was there at all. Next, he was on his mother's back, in a carrier of thatch and straw. He could taste it in his mouth, and smell his mother's hair, and hear indistinguishable words as she walked through the forest, fearless... because she was never alone. He was beside her... the enormous presence, the welcome thing. They were talking and laughing, like old friends... no, like family. Family... he was a young foal, trying to burble out his first words as he laid on the floor with his wooden toys, looking up with a smile at his mother as she sat in her rocking chair and gazed radiantly down at a cloth-wrapped bundle. Her first daughter, Morning Glory... held tight and close in her forelegs. And the way she smiled... the way she kept looking from one to the other, before she whispered words he couldn't hear, but now he could read on her lips: I love you both. And you and her... you're going to be the best of friends, just wait and see. You and your sister are both very special... Illuminia shifted as Ardent Desire sat up, and the mare carefully slipped the cloth-wrapped bundle down to the colt, who looked down at it with adoring eyes. He touched the baby gingerly, and Morning Glory looked up at him with a baby's solemn eyes, measuring him even then, studying him, before she smiled, and he touched her face softly. And when Ardent Desire's eyes rose, he saw his mother was smiling at something outside of the room, past the doorway... and for what felt like the first time, he saw her cutie mark, which he'd only seen the edges of in both memory and portraits. The image on his mother's hip was of a spiral of flames, filled with ornate details... except as Ardent Desire stared at it, he realized that the details were runes, hidden writing amongst the fire. Something he saw instinctively formed not just a name, but an entire contract with a demon, a brand hidden in her cutie mark. And in the not-quite-memory, Illuminia looked towards him and smiled softly, before the silence of these visions was obliterated by her voice, a voice that was beautiful, and strong, and tender as she soothed: "Don't worry, Ardent Desire... Mommy will always be here for you. Mommy has faith that you and your sister will take care of each other... that our family will be happy for a long, long time. Because there's someone special watching out for us..." Ardent Desire leaned up, knowing it was so important, this was so important... and then everything shattered like glass, and his eyes snapped awake as he felt a tremor of pain shoot through his body before he looked wildly back and forth, then slumped and sighed as he realized he was in bed, safe and sound, and Helena was sitting nearby, gazing at him tenderly. He looked back, then managed a small smile, and the Kelpie bowed her head to him before she murmured: "I'm glad to see you're awake, Lord Desire. Are you feeling better?" "I... yes, I am." He hesitantly began to reach up, but Helena quickly reached out and caught his hoof before it could go near his horn, and instead the orange unicorn only glanced awkwardly up as he felt something rustle around the spire. "What's... what..." "Your horn has been branded by Cupidus. It... is in a softened, tender state right now, and will take time to harden anew and your nerves to adjust. I've applied a salve and bandages used by my kind to mend bone damage, it should... help." Helena didn't sound very sure of herself, and also like she disapproved of whatever the devil had done. But the orange stallion only nodded slowly, too confused right now to make heads or tails of anything before the demon mare forced a smile, and reached up to touch his shoulder gently. "But you look good otherwise." "Do I?" Ardent Desire touched his stomach, and frowned in surprise: what he touched felt solid, not paunchy. He shifted the blankets off, glancing down at himself, but only dim light was filtering in through the door and it made it hard to tell what was different, as he asked nervously: "How long has it been? Morning Glory, is she... does she hate me?" "What? Of course not, Lord Desire." Helena sounded almost shocked, but her eyes flicked away: it was only the mix of confusion and naivety that made Ardent Desire miss the guilt that radiated from her. "And... it's only been three hours. Why don't you let yourself sleep?" "I want to see Morning Glory. I... I want Morning Glory." Ardent Desire shook his head hurriedly, looking across at the Kelpie almost desperately, and the demon looked surprised before the stallion smiled weakly. "I'm sorry. I... I just... would really like to see her. I need her." Helena shivered again and closed her eyes, and this time, Ardent Desire saw it clearly. He began to open his mouth, but then the Kelpie pushed herself to her hooves and forced a smile, murmuring: "Then I'll go and get her. I apologize, Lord Desire, I... I guess I just want you all to myself. Your influence has grown... far stronger." Ardent Desire smiled back at her after a moment, then he reached up and gingerly touched his horn through the kelp bandages, and he cursed at the throb of agony he immediately felt. Helena sighed softly at this, but her eyes lingered on him with pity for a different reason before she finally dragged herself away. While she was gone, Ardent Desire managed to make himself get up to his hooves in his spacious bedroom, and then light the oil lamps mounted on either wall to give himself some light. He stretched out a bit, then finally wandered over to a mirror... and simply stared at what he saw. He looked larger, and stronger; his features were much more handsome, and his eyes were brighter; when he grinned, he saw his teeth were perfect and straight and sparkling white. His mane fell naturally around his shoulders and he looked... well... he looked goddamned amazing, to say the least. Ardent Desire spent the ten minutes or so it took Morning Glory to show up examining himself in the mirror, and then, when she all-but-ran into the room, he turned with a bright smile to her and she gazed at him with relief, and amazement, and envy, and most of all, with love. They looked at each other... and inside him, Ardent Desire felt that twist, that compulsion, that need for her... But then his horn gave a twinge, and he winced a little before glancing up at the seaweed-wrapped spire as Morning Glory stepped forwards, asking softly: "You didn't... trade your horn to become more handsome, did you?" "What? No, no, never. I might not be the greatest magician around, Morning Glory, but... I'm not about to give up my horn, either. No, Cupidus just... branded it, apparently." Ardent Desire stopped, then he hesitated before looking across at her silently, and he felt... something inside him twist, when he saw the way she was looking at him. He looked back, and then closed his eyes, before smiling faintly when he felt her embrace him. He hugged her tightly back, resting against her, inhaling her scent as he buried his face into her mane. She stroked soothingly along his back, and his throat went dry as he clenched his eyes tighter shut before whispering: "Morning Glory... I'm... I'm so sorry..." "What... what is it? What did you do to yourself?" Morning Glory leaned back worriedly, and Ardent Desire looked across at her silently. They stared at each other, and then sister smiled faintly, reaching her hooves up to cup his cheeks as she said quietly: "Don't be upset. I'm here for you. I love you, and I'm going to help you fix anything that's happened. You're my big brother. You are Lord Ardent Desire. You... are my king." "I... I'm none of those things. I don't deserve to be any of those things." Ardent Desire whispered, as he reached up and gently pulled her hooves away, and when Morning Glory frowned at him, the stallion trembled and looked up. He felt so many emotions rollicking around inside him, but he kept seeing his mother's eyes, his mother's smile, and something else. Something that was still in the undertow of his subconscious, but screaming so loud at him he knew what it wanted... he knew what his mother would have wanted him to do. "Morning Glory... I... I told you about Cupidus, and about the demons. But you never questioned why... so many mares suddenly were attracted to me, and I never told you about more than the wealth that Cupidus lavished on me, and... I need to tell you the truth." "Why would I question that? You're handsome, charming, a good stallion. A stallion any mare would be fortunate to have as a friend, much less a lover... and I hear that you are... very talented... very... skilled..." Morning Glory's hooves stroked slowly down his chest as she leaned in close, and oh, the desires Ardent felt, the sick, hot, needy, hungry desire! The want, for her, even if... because, maybe... she was... forbidden, his sister, his mother-figure, his... his... He could feel her reflecting him, saw her rising heat, felt her sliding closer, and Ardent Desire clenched his teeth before shaking his head wildly and reaching up to seize her shoulders, staring across at her and knowing that no matter what it cost him, no matter what happened, he had no choice but to tell the truth. He looked at her, squeezing almost painfully into her before he shouted: "I did this to you, Morning Glory! I... I didn't just ask for wealth! I asked for... mares to... to want me, to desire me! And... and it included... you..." Morning Glory stared at him, before her eyes flickered strangely... and then she shoved him hard backwards, and Ardent Desire fell heavily on his back as she all-but-threw herself away. They looked at each other, both breathing hard, and tears spilled down Ardent's cheeks before he whispered: "I'm sorry, I'm... I'm s-s-sorry... I'm sorry..." "I... Ardent... no, no, you're..." Morning Glory trembled, shaking her head vehemently, and then she snarled down at him and rose her hoof, and Ardent Desire didn't flinch, didn't turn away, didn't even try to plead as he looked up at her. Her hoof shivered in the air, and then she slammed it down into the floor in front of her, cracking the hardwood just in front of Ardent Desire's hooves before she shouted down at him: "It was all a lie? You... you were trying to seduce me, like I was some cheap whore? Your own flesh and blood, and you just wanted to crawl on top of me and have your way with me?" "No, that wasn't it! I didn't think it would affect you and Radiant Beacon!" Ardent Desire shouted in return, and he stared across at her, trying his best to hold in his sobs as he stepped towards her... only for her to shove him back, looking at him with disgust, with fury, with... with hate, and he cried out before he could stop himself: "Listen to me!" Morning Glory's eyes widened, and then she gasped and shivered, dropping her head forwards as she dragged her hooves against the ground, trying to resist... but then she only clenched her eyes shut and fell still and docile. And Ardent Desire whimpered as he reached up and covered his mouth with a hoof, watching with a shiver as tears spilled down her own pale pink cheeks and he whispered: "No, no, no... I... I'm sorry... I... no, don't listen to... no, I mean... I... I mean..." He halted, then dropped his head forwards, shivering and staring at the cracked floor before he whispered: "I just wanted things between us to be like they used to, Morning Glory. But... you were more than that. You reminded me of Mom and I... clung to that... even though I'm supposed to be the big brother. But you've always been... stronger, and b-better... and... so much... so much more than me. I'm sorry... I... I'm sorry... I just love you so much and... I don't want to lose you, and... I finally... finally had you... with me... you finally... cared about me, even if... everything went wrong..." Slowly, he looked up, trembling violently as he looked across at her, and Morning Glory looked back silently before she reached slowly up and grasped his shoulders. The two siblings stared at one another, as tears flowed down their faces, and then the pink mare shook her head slowly and whispered: "You stupid bastard. You've always been my big brother... I just wanted... but after Mother died... Father pushed me... so hard and... I got lost and... you... I hated you because I could never say no to Father but you, the weakling, the coward, the runt, never stopped... being... you..." Their eyes met, and then Ardent Desire whimpered a little before he tried to lean forwards, but she closed her eyes and shook her head slowly, holding him away from her. He dropped his head... and then, to his surprise, Morning Glory slipped forwards and silently curled herself against him, burying her face in his neck as she whispered: "You're the big brother and I'm your little sister. I've held you long enough. Now you take a turn... keeping me safe. And y-you... you make up... everything you did to me... you're going to apologize and you're going to... to make up for everything you've done..." "I... I will... I will." Ardent Desire hugged her fiercely close, trembling violently as he held her tightly against his body, and the two siblings clung to each other like the foals they had once been, like they had in the nights after their mother had died, but before they had ceased to be one-another's guardian. And outside, Cupidus calmly checked his pocketwatch, then tucked it back into his cloak as his orange eyes all but glowed in the darkness, studying the light pouring out of the master bedroom and feeling the emotions of the ponies inside. Beside him, Helena shivered violently before she looked at the devil and whispered: "Please. Please let them go." "No. Things are proceeding ahead of schedule. But if you continue to assist me, I may be more inclined to take your pleas into consideration." Cupidus said quietly. Helena only bowed her head, but the devil seemed to take her silence as agreement, nodding once. "Good. I will leave it in your hooves, Helena. You understand the lusts of mortals better than I do." "I understand many things better than you do, Cupidus." Helena murmured, and the devil slowly turned his cold gaze on her, before the Kelpie asked quietly: "Is this truly about your greed? Or do I smell the reek of wounded pride, and the desire for revenge as well?" "My goal is success and profit: my motives are financial and economic. And there is no pleasure of revenge involved, Helena... Illuminia and her demonic patriarch are both long dead, and his fiscal ventures have been absorbed by my own." Cupidus replied calmly, and then he reached up and carefully adjusted the golden mask hiding his features from view. "One cannot take revenge on someone they have already annihilated." The Kelpie kept her mouth shut, and instead she finally bowed her head and strode towards the entrance to the manse. Cupidus studied her, measuring her worth and value... and then a moment later, he was simply gone, as if he had never been there in the first place. Top ↑ Category:Transcript Category:Story